


Slip of the Heart

by ItsJustaDressDummy



Series: Playing the Fool [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alpha Azumane Asahi, Alpha Nishinoya Yuu, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Come Marking, Dubious Consent, Explicit Sexual Content, Frottage, Heartache, Knotting, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Masturbation, Multiple Orgasms, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Rutting, Scent Marking, Scenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:07:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24912817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsJustaDressDummy/pseuds/ItsJustaDressDummy
Summary: Asahi hated being in rut. It made him smell, growl at people and be kind of a dick even if he didn't mean to.It also made Noya's scent crackle on the tip of his tongue like lightning and his gay crush almost impossible to suppress. He didn't like that one bit, either.
Relationships: Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu
Series: Playing the Fool [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1857841
Comments: 22
Kudos: 142





	Slip of the Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I felt like this fandom needed some more Alpha/Alpha smut, and also, I just wanted to write it. Huge dicks, boatloads of cum. What's not to like about gay Alphas? ;)
> 
> Asanoya is the main focus of the story. There are also some allusions to Daisuga as well, not enough really to put it in the tags, though.
> 
> I really liked writing this, and I don't think I'm done with this setting yet. It's possible that I will start a series with this, but didn't want to mark this work as such yet.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy! :)

When Asahi stirred awake and squinted at the sunlight peeking through his blinds, he felt kind of grimy and pretty pissed off.

He groaned, rolled on his side. The time on his clock blinked ten to seven. So there was not enough time to get back to sleep, but it was also a little too early to be getting up. Awesome.

Asahi rolled back onto his back, his engorged dick shifting in his boxers. He could already feel the knot. Not completely there, but still an insistent pressure around the base of his cock, probably tenting a ridge into the fabric. With his endocrine system pumping him full of Alpha hormones, it would probably take next to nothing to get himself to knot his hand. The cleanup would be a fucking nightmare, though.

Asahi twisted his mouth. He was way too irritated to deal with any of this, it was probably better to just get up.

The first thing he did was put on a hoodie to cover his raging erection. The second was to open his window, so his mom couldn’t complain about all of that Alpha musk stinking up the house.

Afterwards, Asahi shuffled into the bathroom. The mirror confirmed his worst fears. He basically looked like death warmed over with those bags under his eyes and that pale skin. What kind of sick person came up with the idea that rut made Alphas ooze confidence and virility?

Asahi splashed his face with cold water in the hope that it did something positive for his complexion and cleaned himself as best as he could. The grimy feeling dwindled, but persisted no matter how much soap he used. Asahi knew he was fighting a losing battle, but he huffed and tried anyway, because fuck his hormones and fuck his scent gland that had to douse him in this musk. Like a fucking musk ox or something.

In the end, it pissed him off enough to spritz on some of the scent neutralizer they kept. It would only last him a few hours, but made him feel marginally better about harassing everybody’s noses all day with signals of _yes hello I am an Alpha and I am in rut piss off_. Well, at least it wouldn’t be a total waste, since they didn’t have morning practice on Thursdays to ruin the effect completely.

Back in his room, Asahi threw on a fresh school uniform and packed his things. He almost lost it when he couldn’t find his Japanese textbook that he’d _just_ used the night before. Fortunately, he found it in time before he could do something embarrassing like upend his small study table in frustration. Asahi had an equally appalling and ridiculous inclination to flip tables when he was in rut, as him and his mom had found out one morning. His mother had stopped teasing him for his musky scent after that.

Still a little rattled from his earlier anger spike, Asahi took a few calming breaths before going downstairs into the kitchen.

The smell of his mother’s cooking and her own grassy scent were a comfort. „Good morning,“ he said as he entered the kitchen. Unprompted, he started dicing the carrots. His mother smiled at him over the sizzling pan. „Good morning.“

And that was that. They cooked, they prepared their bentos, they ate. Not a word was exchanged between them, and Asahi felt grateful for having such an understanding parent.

She only addressed him again when they both slipped into their shoes in the genkan. With a smile, she raised her head close to his, skimmed his jaw with her own. Since she was an Omega, the touch was not enough to transfer any of her scent onto him. But it was not meant to mark, only to reaffirm, to soothe. And soothe it did.

Still, anyone with a nose would probably be able to tell that she shared a household with a rutting Alpha, and Asahi felt a little bit bad for that.

When she withdrew, her smile was encouraging. „Be strong. And remember, aim for the balls if anyone tries to challenge you.“

She had said that the very first time he’d entered his rut, terrified and pissed off beyond belief, and had kept saying it every time since then. It never failed to drag a wry smile out of Asahi.

„Sure. Have fun at work, mom.“

They left the house together and parted at the gate.

The trek to school was mainly peaceful. Most students he encountered gave him an even wider berth than usual, for which he was more than grateful. These were the instances where it _did_ pay off to be the subject of speculations. Although Asahi could do without the ones that revolved around the astronomical size of his penis.

Unfortunately, his rut did tend to attract some attention. Like the one of this charming Second Year that drove her shoulder right into Asahi’s own as she ran past him. The sharpness of her scent suggested that she was just entering her rut, like him. While Asahi usually preferred that smell to the cloying, sticky odor of estrus, it almost made him gag.

The Alpha turned around with a thunderous expression, her hair whipping over her shoulder. Asahi stared at her. She opened her mouth, closed it again. Suddenly, she harrumphed, but not before lowering her gaze in a hint of submission, and continued running.

Asahi sighed in relief. Nobody had ever seriously challenged him before. For some reason, people loved to posture around him, always trying to provoke him into some kind of Alpha dick measuring contest. None of them had ever followed through so far. Asahi was baffled as to why, but assumed it was due to a mixture of rumors and his menacing aura.

He made it into Karasuno High and to his shoe cubby without further incident. Most of the students he met in the hallway averted their gaze, shuffled around to give him more than enough space. Only the occasional Omega would wander a little bit closer, nostrils flaring. One brave girl even brushed against his arm. It took a lot of self control not to bare his teeth at her.

Asahi made a mental note to get rid of that scent neutralizer, since it apparently didn’t do shit.

Another breath of relief escaped him when he sank into his desk chair. While he wasn’t exactly friendly with his classmates, there was no outright antagonism, which meant he was left to his own devices pretty much all the time. When his body had just reached the peak of its hormonal cycle, his lone ranger status became advantageous indeed.

Asahi suffered through his lessons in silence. Fortunately, he was pretty good at that. He only had to clench his teeth a little not to snap at anybody scraping their chair against the floor, but that didn’t happen too often. What was more difficult to control was his facial expression at some of his classmates’ downright offensive scents. Most of the Alphas and Betas were okay, but there was one Omega whose smell blended terribly with his vanilla scented aftershave, creating the olfactory impression of a rotten buttercream cake. Asahi had been unable _not_ to stare at that Omega in shock just as he’d turned around. First, the boy had looked vaguely flattered at Asahi’s attention, but his expression had quickly changed into horror when Asahi had just continued glaring at him, willing him to stop _smelling_ like that.

The Omega had kept his back resolutely turned to Asahi until lunch.

„Well,“ Daichi said as he patted Asahi’s shoulder on the edge of the stairs they were sitting on, „You do have a little bit of a prison inmate vibe going on when you’re in breeding mode.“

 _Prison inmate_? Asahi hastily crammed a mouthful of stir fry down his throat, but Suga’s fist already collided with Daichi’s skull. „Ha ha, such a refined sense of humor, oh Captain,“ he scoffed. „Don’t worry, Asahi, you look totally normal and non-threatening. Like a baby deer.“

Suga shifted a little bit closer to Asahi on the stairs, pressed their legs together. It was a companionable gesture, the physical contact meant to express his support, although it irked Asahi a little bit. He smiled tightly at Suga in response, before carefully directing his attention back to his food.

He wished he could appreciate Suga’s encouragement more, but it was kind of difficult when he could basically feel the tension rolling off of Daichi next to him. Ever since he had returned to the team, Suga had been siding with Asahi in everything that could be close to a confrontation. He wasn’t even attempting to hide that he was openly favoring him. After some weeks of this, Daichi had been hurt enough to challenge a blindsided Asahi over it right before their practice match with Nekoma High.

Asahi cringed inwardly at the memory. Thank God there had been no challenge, only a very awkward talk, some hurried apologies (Asahi) and a little bit of ugly crying (incredibly enough, Daichi). Suffice to say that Asahi knew now why Daichi never returned any of the Valentine’s Day gestures once White Day rolled around. He just wished that his captain would hurry up and confess to Suga already so all these misunderstandings could have an end.

Then again, Asahi wasn’t doing so hot on the confession front, either, so he should probably let his friends deal with their issues in peace.

After a few beats of silence, Asahi swallowed and cleared his throat. „Maybe looking like a prison inmate isn’t the worst thing. At least everybody leaves me alone and doesn’t offer to ‚relieve‘ my rut.“

„Uh-huh,“ Daichi agreed, „Always thought it was kind of creepy when somebody comes up to you while you’re basically pumped full of steroids and goes ‚hello, you could take me home if you want.‘“

Suga rolled his eyes so hard that Asahi feared his eyeballs could get stuck. „Uh-huh, totally agree, you poor Alphas with your awful, relatable problems. ‚How will I ever decide who to choose from all these people that want to fuck me? Oh, if somebody would just come forward and suck my huge cock already.’“

„Awww, don’t worry, Suga, I’m sure there are plenty of people that want to eat you up,“ Daichi said and even _winked_. But Suga only poked around in his immaculate bento and paid him no mind. Asahi sighed around the carrots in his mouth.

„Probably? I mean, how should I know without a handy mating cycle that makes me irresistible to at least one sex. I’m just saying you guys should stop whining considering you won the reproductive lottery.“

Asahi frowned into his food. „I don’t know. I could do without stinking up every room I enter and having people assume I’m bullying around my mom at home.“

„Okay, look,“ Suga huffed, „I have sympathy for your situation, but I’m not going to let you sit here and mope over the fact that you are literally on top of the food chain. You could probably just apply for a management position straight out of high school and get it, because you have ‚natural‘ leadership skills. All Betas are known for is being the second best at everything.“

Asahi gnawed nervously on the ends of his chopsticks. Was Suga bitter that Daichi had been chosen as captain over him? Asahi stole a glance over to Suga, but he actually didn’t seem that bothered. Then again, Suga was pretty good at hiding his thoughts when he wanted to.

Daichi was quick to pick up the thread of the conversation. „Yeah, it’s true, that sucks. But Betas get recognition for a lot of stuff they do, nowadays more than ever. And Alphas get called out on their bullshit, also more than ever. Honestly, I think the ones to get the short end of the stick are still the Omegas.“

Suga and Asahi nodded in unison. No argument there.

A few seconds of chewing passed, and then Suga blurted, „Do you guys remember when-“

„Oh my God, yes,“ Asahi groaned just as Daichi muttered, „Never could forget that shit show.“

It still left a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach whenever he remembered Kiyoko’s heat in their first year. How she’d just stood there, petrified, _horrified_ , the oppressive scent of her heat flowing from her in waves. The collective moment of silence before their captain had started sprinting, before their Third Year manager had casually stuck her hand up Kiyoko’s training jacket and nuzzled her neck. The outpour of Alpha pheromones singeing the hairs in his nose as their captain bit into their manager’s arm and they started fighting.

Asahi still felt a little bad for ruining their former captain’s cheek like that, but really, it wasn’t like he’d had any choice when the Alpha had picked himself off the ground and lunged himself straight at Kiyoko. Inexperienced like he was, Asahi’d managed to sprain three of his fingers. But that hadn’t hurt nearly as much as listening to Kiyoko’s muffled crying outside of the nurse’s office.

He also clearly remembered walking her to the infirmary with their middle blocker, feeling not a shred of arousal in him although Kiyoko’s heat scent was permeating the air like smoke and thinking _Huh, I guess I really am gay_.

„I’m glad she decided to come back after that,“ Daichi said, „Doubly glad that those assholes got banned from the club.“

Suga nodded. „That wasn’t really supposed to happen though before her parents insisted on it. Or before Asahi’s mom wrote that article.“

Asahi smiled a little at that. Although she’d probably overdone it a little by calling the school „a cesspool of Omega oppression and Alpha favoritism“, it had definitely been one of her best pieces. Or as good a piece as you could write for a regional newspaper.

He was chewing on his last mouthful of carrots when Daichi pondered, „Even if something like that was going to happen again, I’m pretty sure we would be fine. We don’t have any asshole Alphas like that in our team.“

„You think so?“ Suga asked doubtfully, „I’m not sure _what_ Noya and Tanaka would do if Kiyoko had to go through that again.“

There was a second, and then Asahi very deliberately unclenched his fingers around his chopsticks. He pictured Kiyoko, flushed and mortified, and Noya right there, flushed, too, but also eager, his fingers twitching at his sides.

Setting his bento on the step beside him, Suga continued, „Don’t get me wrong, they’re definitely good guys, just… I don’t know. If it was _Kiyoko_? I’m kinda thinking they would be drooling all over her in seconds. They’re batshit crazy for her.“

Asahi thought of Noya stepping closer, unable to keep away, drinking in her scent, her _heat_ , like he’d probably imagined doing thousands of times, his eyes lingering on all the parts he loved to think about, all the parts that Asahi couldn’t offer.

„They’re not even trying to reel in their instincts most of the time, and then the Omega they have this massive crush on goes into heat. I’m kind of doubting they would be able to go against what their instincts would tell them.“

He was sure that Noya wouldn’t lay a finger on Kiyoko, but he’d love it all the same, hoard the memory of her smell like a treasure, probably touch himself to it at night, knot right into his hand, not sparing the smidge of a thought to a stupid, overgrown Alpha who couldn’t help but short-circuit with every friendly pat from his hand.

„I’m not so sure, Suga,“ Daichi murmured uncertainly. Asahi didn’t need to look at him to know that Daichi was eyeing him like a dumpster fire waiting to ignite. He busied his shaking fingers with cleaning away his lunch.

„Really?“ Suga asked with a raised eyebrow, „You _don’t_ think they would cream their pants just from her scent alone?“

There was a rip. Asahi stared at the tattered end of the furoshiki in his hands. They were still shaking. He noticed that his breathing was suddenly very loud, whooshing out of his nose in gasps. 

He heard Suga swallow next to him. „I’m sorry, Asahi. I, I know that the thing with Kiyoko was pretty upsetting for you. I didn’t want to-“

His fingertips grazed Asahi’s upper arm, _fuck_ , why did Suga have to touch him all the fucking time? He jerked his arm away, barely managed not to growl at him like a dog. Suga looked at him anxiously, then dropped his gaze to the side.

It placated him almost immediately, and Asahi hated himself a little for that. 

He took a deep breath, held it, released it. It didn’t do anything against the anger roiling in his stomach, but gave the impression of calm. Fueled by guilt, he dredged up a smile. „No, you didn’t do anything wrong, it’s just. I get triggered by the smallest things when I’m like this. I’m sorry.“

Suga raised his eyes. After some searching stares, he smiled and shook his head. „No harm done, big guy.“

Asahi almost sighed in relief when the bell rang. „I guess we’ll see you at practice,“ Daichi said as he raised himself up from the steps, „You can put that aggression to good use and pound some balls into the ground.“

Asahi’s smile felt slippery on his face. „Sounds delightful. I’ll see you later.“ He gathered the ruins of the furoshiki around his bento and left.

Only when he was back in his seat did Asahi realize how soothing the presence of his friends had been. Now there were all these irritating, smelly students around him, looking at him, speculating, stealing glances at his crotch as if they hoped that he’d just pop a random boner in class, like it had any meaning at all, like the size of his dick or his knot said something fundamental about him and wasn’t just part of every Alpha’s anatomy, just like breasts were part of every woman’s anatomy, why was Noya even interested in those, they were just lumps of fat connected to an upper body and yet Asahi had seen him look at Kiyoko’s, _stare_ at them even, like he wondered what they’d feel like, because Noya was interested in things like that and never wondered how another Alpha’s knot pressed against his own might feel like, what it could be like to knot against each other and create an unspeakable mess of cum, what-

Asahi glared at the edges of the paper his nails had torn into. It was preferable to flipping his desk chair, but only because it saved him from embarrassment. His scent gland just behind his ear itched like a bitch, ready to let the class know that Asahi was one pissed off Alpha. He gathered the inside of his cheek between his molars and bit down hard. It distracted him a little from the itching.

The afternoon went by in a flash while Asahi circled through all the reasons he was angry at the world, most of which had to do with being a gay Alpha and in love with a boy who couldn’t reciprocate his feelings even if he wanted to. And with that one guy that still smelled like rancid cake.

When Daichi met him at the bottom of the stairs leading to their club room, he had calmed down enough hat he didn’t need to dig his fingernails into his palm anymore. Daichi nodded at him and together they went up to unlock the door. Once inside, Asahi immediately started to change into his training gear. 

They were silent, but Asahi felt the tension radiating off of Daichi again. Not really in the mood to start the conversation, he just waited for Daichi to break the silence while he continued to change.

And break it Daichi did. „I’m sorry.“

Asahi frowned at his hands tying his shoes. „For what?“

„I know you could tell that I was pissed before. I’m not trying to be jealous, just…“ A giant huff of air. „I just wish he wouldn’t pick on me just _once_.“

Asahi stood up, regarded the frustrated expression on Daichi’s face as he pulled his shirt over his head. „I think it’s less about picking on you and more about placating me. He’s still afraid that I could go and leave the club again.“

Daichi stared at him. „Still? After two months?“

Well, it wasn’t like Asahi was thrilled about the fact that Suga obviously didn’t trust him to stay. „Yeah, I guess.“ He looked at Daichi’s doubtful face. „He’s definitely not doing it because he’s into me.“

„How do you know, though?“ Daichi asked as they left the club room and walked down the stairs, „He touches you a lot. Like, all the time. He always walks next to you and sits down next to you, and-“

„I just know, okay?“ Asahi barely managed not to snap at him. „He’s not into me, and even if he was, I have a huge, gay crush on somebody else, so you don’t have to worry about it.“

After a beat, Asahi sighed. „Look, can we talk about this when my body isn’t overdosing on its own hormones? We can beat each other up in this indie game you love and talk about our feelings like male Alphas.“

Daichi snorted a laugh. „I like that plan,“ he said and tried to unlock the door, but there was no latch to be heard.

Curious, they opened the gym door and were greeted by a jubilant, incoherent shout and a quiet, but equally jubilant „Yes!“ Hinata’s shoes screeched over the linoleum as he dashed over to them.

„Did you see that?! Did you see how my hand was all _fshooo_ , and I hit the ball like _bam_! Hello!“

Daichi grinned a little at him. „No, I didn’t see that, but all those sounds you made seem promising.“

Hinata opened his mouth, nose twitching. Instantly, his mouth snapped shut and his eyes darted to Asahi, to the floor, Asahi, his shoes, Daichi, Asahi.

That’s right, this was the first time for Hinata that one of the Alphas in their team showed up to training in rut. Considering that Hinata usually treated everybody like such a thing as a first sex didn’t exist, Asahi was kind of surprised that it would derail him so much.

To diffuse the situation a little, Asahi tried an encouraging smile. „Hello, Hinata-Kun. What were you and Kageyama-Kun practicing?“

Instantly, Daichi switched to full-on captain mode. „And _how_ did you get into your training gear? Wasn’t the club room locked? And how did you get into the _gym_?“

„The club room was locked,“ Kageyama answered from his spot next to the net, „We changed in the restrooms. Our last period was a study period, so we skipped it and came here. The gymnasts left the gym open for us.“

Daichi hummed. „Well, club room’s still open, so you better get your things in there before all the shelves are full.“

„Yes!“ Hinata shouted. He raced to the opposite side of the field where Kageyama was already picking up his things and sprinted past them and out the door like a husky.

They exchanged a wry look, started jogging around the court. „Sometimes,“ Daichi ruminated, „I wonder if there’s a volleyball god and, if yes, why they had to bless all the First Years and didn’t leave anything for the Third Years.“

„Are you talking about me?“

Asahi jumped, almost crashed into Noya, but caught himself just in time. How he hadn’t smelled Noya before he’d ran up to them was a mystery. His scent was just so rich, strong, terrifyingly _electric_. Asahi had never licked on a battery before, but he somehow still thought that Noya’s scent was the olfactory equivalent of lightning in his mouth.

Asahi stared at Noya as that scent bled into the air around him, at his handsome face, his outrageous hairstyle, his _lips_. He opened his own slightly, needed to taste that scent right on his tongue. He clenched his jaw shut at the last second. What the shit was _wrong_ with him, he couldn’t fucking flehm right here in the gym with Noya fucking right next to him!

Asahi bit his tongue, took in Noya’s face. It seemed to be frozen in a smile and Asahi’s stomach was suddenly all up in knots. Had Noya noticed that he’d been about to taste his smell?

Daichi cleared his throat. It made it all the more obvious that nobody had said anything for much too long. „You may call yourself a guardian deity, but I’m sure you are far away from actually being a god.“

Just like that, Noya’s smile turned brilliant again. „Oho, you wanna bet? I would totally be a volleyball god if the spirits welcomed me into their circle.“

„Really? Not like, a god of thunder?“

Noya’s eyes lit up like the candles on a birthday cake. „Like Raijin?“ he gasped.

Asahi listened to their surprisingly nonsensical conversation without butting in once. He was too focussed on putting one foot in front of the other. God, he just hoped that his smell wasn’t too pungent.

One after the other, their teammates joined them. Asahi was more than grateful when Ennoshita jogged up next to him and wrapped him up in a conversation about training shoes. His scent was mild and unobtrusive, perfect for Asahi’s irritated nose.

At some point, Kiyoko had entered the gym with Yachi in tow. She glanced at Asahi as he jogged past her, smiled in greeting. Her hair was glossy under the unflattering lights of the gym, her lips just this natural pink color. Asahi couldn’t see her chest, but it probably looked amazing, too. For a second, the jealousy from earlier raged in his heart and in his throat, tearing into him like a starved animal. But that wasn’t right, it couldn’t be Kiyoko’s fault, was never Kiyoko’s fault just as it wasn’t Noya’s fault.

Incapable of returning her kindness, Asahi just nodded at her and continued running.

As they pushed themselves through warm-up and first receive exercises, Asahi couldn’t shake the feeling that Noya was avoiding him. He didn’t offer once to be his stretch-assist, didn’t tell him one funny story from class or describe in excruciating detail a meme he saw the other night. Which was good, of course. Asahi wasn’t sure whether he could handle a sweaty Noya in his vicinity right now. But was his scent really that awful to Noya when he was in rut? None of the other Alphas in their team seemed to avoid him. Tanaka even engaged him more than usual, despite the fact that he was stinking up the gym.

Asahi pressed his lips together. He should probably just focus on practice. Physical activity was always a good outlet for rut-induced frustration.

Half an hour later, Asahi had to conclude that there were times where it definitely wasn’t.

They were playing a six on six match and everything was going to shit. Everybody sucked, except for Kageyama and Hinata, surprisingly. Suga’s tosses failed to connect, Tsukishima’s blocks were weak and Tanaka kept receiving balls with his stomach. A constant stream of cursing fired from behind Asahi’s back, where every second receive slipped through Noya’s hands. Asahi’s fingers outright refused to connect with the fucking ball, and if they did, he spiked it right outside of the court.

The whole gym was just a swirl of frustrated, angry smells that smacked Asahi in the face every time he took a breath. The team’s annoyance burnt in the back of his throat like bile. He didn’t need to look at his palms to know that he was close to digging bloody crescent moons into them with his fingernails. Asahi just wanted to fucking leave, but he couldn’t do that without making a giant Alpha baby out of himself, so he jumped and he failed and he stayed.

After another 30 minutes of this foolishness, Ukai had them huddle around. He told them exactly how incompetent their play was tonight. He also devoted some special attention to the team’s failure of an Ace, but Asahi was just trying not to vibrate out of his own skin at this point and only nodded along.

He was just going to fucking tear that fucking scent gland right out of his neck if it didn’t stop itching soon.

When Ukai was done chewing and spitting them out, he told them do go home. Asahi got his shit together just enough not to cry out of sheer relief. The team gathered their things in stony silence. Asahi washed the burning taste of their anger down with large gulps of water. Thank fucking God, he could just go home, eat some dinner, touch himself and go to bed. Hopefully, by tomorrow his rut would have broken up enough not to drive him into scratching his-

„Asahi-San.“

Slowly, Asahi lowered the towel he had pressed his face into. Noya’s smile was eager, his eyes bright. Asahi swallowed. Maybe he’d just imagined Noya’s earlier dismissiveness?

„I wanna practice my libero toss with you!“ Noya announced.

Asahi grit his teeth. „Uh, I don’t know, Noya-San. I’m not in my best state right now. Not even a mediocre state, to be honest.“

Noya got right down to business, „Really? You gave me that excuse yesterday. We gotta step up our game, man, you said so yourself.“

Fucking hell, Noya never knew when it was enough, did he? „I know, I just don’t think that I’m the ideal practice partner right now.“

„Awww, don’t be like that. It’ll help with your rut.“

Asahi’s eyebrow twitched. „That’s what practice was supposed to do, too.“

Noya changed tactics so fast it almost gave Asahi whiplash. „Come on, Asahi-San! Please! Practice with me! Please! Please, please!“ He was suddenly right up in Asahi’s face, all huge eyes and smooth, ruddy skin. His scent sparked up Asahi’s nose like a live wire. 

And just like that, he’d lost. It was good to know that he was pudding in Noya’s hands no matter his hormonal state. He looked at Noya, sighed and nodded.

„Yes!“ Noya’s fists flew into the air, and then he was already at the other side of the court rolling the ball trolley into position. Asahi looked at Daichi just in time to catch the keys before they hit him in the face.

„Looks like you’re the one to lock up tonight,“ Daichi said with a tired grin.

„Looks like it,“ Asahi mumbled. He saw Suga with his things in his hands, ready to leave, and frowned. „You’re not staying?“

Suga shrugged. „I wasn’t invited to your little practice session. Figured it’s one of those exclusive Alpha club meetings.“

Not invited? Asahi bit his lip. „It’s not like that, Noya just-“

„Relax, I wasn’t serious,“ Suga laughed, „I’m definitely going home and forgetting that this awful practice ever happened. You guys are welcome to work your arms into cooked spaghetti all on your own.“

In unison, Daichi and Suga waved at him. „See you tomorrow!“ Suga said on their way out.

For some reason, Asahi was convinced that they were laughing at him.

„Asahi-San, come on!“ Noya waved at him, ball already in hand. Asahi dropped his towel and jogged over to him. Since everybody else had left, the air in the gym was slowly clearing out. Asahi took his first breath that didn’t sear his mucous membrane.

Noya grinned, and like always, Asahi was drawn to it like a magnet. He threw the ball into the air and got ready to toss. Asahi’s calves tensed. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

Twenty minutes went by and Asahi was ready to climb the fucking walls.

Not once did Asahi even touch a ball. Not _once_. They sailed right over or straight through his fingers, leaving him slapping at air. And why wouldn’t they? It made absolutely no sense to practice tossing if there was no setter around to give you any pointers.

The ball vaulted into the air, curved a perfect arch towards the net and Asahi’s hand missed it entirely. 

If only he didn’t suck so fucking bad, too. It was an utter embarrassment, and Asahi couldn’t decide whether he was glad that it was Noya witnessing his failure or mortified. His scent was cramming itself into every corner, signaling his temper to anybody nearby. Asahi was honestly baffled that Noya could keep standing next to him.

The next ball shot past, the leather just skimming the pads of Asahi’s fingers.

His feet stomped back onto the ground, the soles of his trainers squeaking. Asahi gasped for air, bore holes into the ground with his eyes.

„Asahi-Sa-“

„ _What_?!“

His shout echoed off the walls. It was so fucking satisfying, Asahi wanted to keep barking and screaming, to rip into Noya for always being so fucking demanding, never knowing when to quit, having the fucking audacity to be in love with somebody that wasn’t _him_.

It all died in his throat when he looked at Noya’s stunned, but calm face. He just stared right back at Asahi, gaze straight und unwavering, not a shred of submission anywhere. It pleased and irritated him at the same time.

Groaning, Asahi pressed his eyeballs into his skull with the heels of his hands. Maybe he could just stay like this forever and live out his life as a voluntarily blind man that never had to see the faces of his teammates ever again.

„That bad, huh?“ Noya’s voice floated to him through the dark.

Asahi let out an even louder groan in response. When the pressure became too painful, he dropped his hands. His vision was still blurry, but he had no problem making out Noya’s brightening face.

„I know what’ll help,“ he said and ran into the equipment room.

„Going home?“ Asahi suggested weakly.

„Nah. I mean, probably, but this will help, too!“

Noya emerged from the room struggling with a gym mat. He threw it carelessly onto the ground, before going back and retrieving another. Suddenly, Asahi remembered that he had arms and legs and went after him to help. They carried the second mat to the first, arranged the two mats in a more or less even sized square.

„Are we going to do yoga?“ Asahi asked with a furrowed brow, „Because I tried that, and it didn’t do all that much for me.“

Noya grinned from ear to ear. „No, we’re gonna wrestle.“

Asahi blinked.

„It totally works! I do it with my mom all the time when I’m rutting. It fucks you up a little in the beginning, but then you get really into it and twenty minutes later you’re all sweaty and super relaxed. It’s, like, a magic cure.“

„I thought you weren’t supposed to trust magic cures,“ Asahi murmured.

„This one is completely trustworthy. It’s been tested by your favorite libero!“ Noya winked at him winningly.

Asahi twisted his mouth and looked pointedly down at Noya. „Are you sure about this? I don’t want to hurt you.“

Noya’s grin turned predatory. „Young disciple, let me predict that today you will learn that technique is more powerful than body mass.“

Asahi snorted a laugh. „Looking forward to it, sensei.“

Noya started to remove his shoes, so Asahi did the same. With socked feet, they stood at opposite ends on the mats.

„Okay,“ Noya said, „We’re just gonna try to push each other out of the ring. Which is the mats, we’re trying to push each other off of the mats. And we’re gonna try to pin each other down so we can’t escape. Or I mean whatever, I guess it’s more about the wrestling itself than scoring points, so yeah.“

Asahi nodded. „Sounds good.“

Noya smiled and got into position. Asahi kind of like bent his knees and that was it, he literally had no idea what he was doing.

„Ready?“ Noya asked, and then: „Go!“

Noya just barreled into him unrestrained and shoved him ass first into the mat. It startled Asahi so much that he had to laugh as he vaguely grabbed for Noya’s shirt. But Noya’s arms had locked around his middle, and he was currently pushing Asahi off of the mat with his shoulder driving into Asahi’s stomach. His laughter had turned into giggles by the time his butt hit the gym floor.

Noya surfaced and sat back on his hunches with a grin on his face. „Asahi-San,“ he said, „You sucked.“

After a little bit more giggling, Asahi agreed, „So much. I’m gonna try harder next time.“

„You better!“

They picked themselves off the ground and got back into position. This time, Asahi changed his center of gravity a little, anticipating Noya’s attack. But, of course, this time Noya didn’t come running at him, but took his sweet time shifting his weight from foot to foot. Obviously, there was only one thing to do. Asahi threw himself forward, seized Noya around his stomach and threw him on the mat. Noya’s breath whooshed out of his lung. When he got his bearings back, Asahi had already pinned him down with one arm across his chest and the other over his thighs.

„Oho!“ Noya shouted. Asahi smirked at him and suddenly knew what Noya had been talking about. Besting another Alpha in a fight was always nice, but doing so while in rut gave him a _rush_. It felt like his blood was heating right in his veins, pumping through him faster and harder. He was much more energized, felt good, _proud_ even, like he wanted to keep going, keep winning.

So he kind of surprised himself when he snatched his arms back, stumbled back onto his feet. He had to do that, because, somehow, it didn’t feel okay, like. Just not okay.

Noya raised himself to his feet, stared at him in question. There was a beat and Asahi swallowed. He hoped that Noya wasn’t going to ask him about his weird behavior, because Asahi totally didn’t have an answer for him.

Asahi lifted the corners of his mouth and said, „Seems like a tie.“

Noya just grinned back at him. „It’s not gonna be one for long.“

So they grappled. Noya’s scent started to pour off of him with his sweat, seeping into his clothes, into _Asahi’s_ clothes. He tried to turn his head and keep his nose as little exposed to Noya as he could. It was a little difficult though, when Noya’s main move was to bury himself into Asahi’s stomach or chest and force him to the ground. His scent _invaded_ Asahi, entered him through his nose, sparked along his nerves right into his blood, a constant humming power tingling under the surface of his skin.

Asahi hated it, and he loved it. It was like playing with fire, the sweetest kind of torture to feel Noya so close to him, skin on skin and breath over breath. All Asahi could do was bite his tongue to keep his dick from swelling anymore and hope that Noya would just chalk it up to his rut.

He panted evenly, wiped his hair back from his wet forehead. He was so fucking hot.

Despite Noya’s bragging, he ended up pinned to the mat much more often than Asahi, which put him into the weirdest conflict. It pleased the animal part in him that wanted to be powerful, to be dominant. But it also _displeased_ him. Like having Noya on his back looking up at him was somehow strange, unreal even. Like Asahi wanted to win and lose at the same time.

It threw him off enough that he stopped lunging for Noya, instead waited for him to attack first. After he’d easily knocked Asahi off the mats twice, Noya frowned at him.

„You don’t have to worry. It’s cool, I can take you.“

Asahi hesitated, then just nodded.

Noya looked right through him, the look in his eyes turning exasperated. „I’m not gonna break. You’re not as strong as you think you are, you know.“

His response shot out of Asahi’s mouth instantly. „Maybe you’re not as good as you think you are.“

„Seriously?“ Noya scoffed, „I’m doing this to help you, man.“ 

„Well, it’s not really working so far,“ Asahi responded. He could practically taste Noya’s annoyance on the tip of his tongue.

„Yeah, because you’re holding back. You have to let yourself go and _fight_. It’s not gonna work if you’re being all wimpy about it.“

Oh, fuck him.

Asahi nodded again, tight and short. Noya didn’t look convinced, but got into position anyway.

There was no signal. They looked at each other and burst forward. The collision was hard enough to make Asahi’s teeth clack. He buried his fists in Noya’s shirt and shorts and lifted him off his feet in seconds. Noya’s body drove into the ground with a satisfying smack. Asahi grabbed for Noya’s arms, but wasn’t even halfway there before Noya shoved against his shoulder. With a surprising amount of force, he knocked Asahi on his back.

Well, that wouldn’t do. Asahi used the momentum of the movement to turn them again, this time securing both of Noya’s wrists in his hands. Noya glared up at him, his anger a rough burn on Asahi’s palate. The burn intensified when Asahi smirked down at him. Suddenly, Noya’s knee dug hard into his side, surprising Asahi enough to loosen his hold. Noya slipped out from under him like a snake. Asahi reached for his shoulder, wanted to just tear him down to the floor again and get on top of him or something, but Noya evaded him easily, took hold of Asahi’s hand. He climbed on top of him like it was nothing, twisted Asahi’s arm behind his back just shy of the point where it hurt.

Something like a growl escaped him when Noya’s weight settled on his back, pressed him down into the mat.

Asahi blinked, struggled, squirmed. He strained his muscles, tried to break Noya’s hold with pure strength. Swiftly, Noya braced his other arm on Asahi’s shoulders, dug his knee into the small of Asahi’s back, supported himself with his second knee on the mat. Asahi fidgeted again, but it quickly became clear that it was fruitless.

He was pinned. He had lost.

Asahi gasped against the laminate pressed against his cheek. His breath condensed against the material, dampening it. Sweat ran down his face, dripped onto the mat.

Noya’s grasp around his hand was strong, sure. Asahi lay under him and panted. He could feel his pulse pound against Noya’s thumb pushing into his wrist.

Shouldn’t he be angry? He didn’t feel angry. He felt okay, good even. His muscles unwound one by one under Noya’s weight, like a wire that had been coiled much too tightly. Beads of sweat rolled down his throat. Noya’s breath cooled them where they wet his skin.

The weight on his back shifted, and then he felt the tip of Noya’s nose parting his hair at the back of his neck, sniffing at the damp strands. It moved this way and that way, sorting through the wisps in a manner known to Noya alone. Asahi felt him open his lips against his hair, inhale through his mouth and nose slowly before puffing his breath out to take in more air.

Noya was scenting him. Flehming. Taking in his scent as deep and as strong as he was able to.

That was good, too. Secure in the knowledge that this was right, that it was what was supposed to happen, Asahi moved his head, bared his throat to Noya.

Because Noya had bested him. Because Noya had earned this with his strength and with his body, deserved Asahi submitting to him. 

That knowledge seeped deep into his bones like warm honey, completely irrefutable and absolute. His heart soaked it up, pounded it into the rhythm of his blood, infused the breath panting out of Asahi’s mouth.

Another huff of breath ruffled his hair. The tip of Noya’s nose traced through the strands, over the delicate skin on the top of his throat. A little to the side. Asahi felt his heart thump against the laminate. He looked into the open equipment room, but didn’t see it. The only thing he saw was Noya holding him down, his open mouth hovering over his exposed scent gland. A breath, washing right over his swollen skin. Noya’s fingers twitched, clenched around his wrist. Another breath, deeper, shakier.

Noya removed his knee from Asahi’s back, but he kept still, let it slide off of him and sink into the mat next to his hip. The right arm slid off, too, supporting Noya’s weight on the mat. The hand around his wrist didn’t budge.

The image of Noya kneeling over him made Asahi pant harder. Noya’s smell grew stronger with his own scenting. There was a sharp note to it that had Asahi curl his toes, swallow down his excess saliva. The tip of his tongue emerged, rested against his bottom lip. Noya’s arousal sparkled on it like electricity on ripped wiring, but it wasn’t _enough_. It needed to be on Asahi, in him, ingrain itself into his hair and skin and spit and _stay_ there.

Asahi gasped when Noya’s tongue flicked against his gland. A shiver raced down his back, made him squirm, but Noya growled, the sound rumbling through his spine and pinning him more than Noya’s hands could. He lapped against Asahi’s scent gland, pushing and prodding the raised flesh. Asahi gasped and shuddered, tried to move as little as possible as Noya licked him.

It felt _good_. Asahi hadn’t even known that his gland could be so sensitive, but he twitched and jerked with everyone of Noya’s strokes, rubbed his hard cock into the mat. Above him, Noya did a sound that was a groan and a growl at the same time. It travelled straight to Asahi’s throbbing dick, pounded in his engorged knot. He opened his mouth wider, wanted Noya’s excitement to sizzle down his throat.

Noya sank his teeth into his gland and Asahi shrieked, bucked and dragged his cock against the mat. Noya growled as Asahi’s yell turned into a moan. He just let it pour out of him, because Noya deserved that, too, to know what his dominance did to Asahi, how good he made Asahi feel under him. With his teeth still buried in Asahi’s gland, Noya lowered himself down, pressed himself flush against Asahi’s back. 

His cock fit perfectly into the cleft of Asahi’s ass. It was instinctual, Noya dragging his erection down and Asahi arching into him. Even through the layers of clothes, Asahi could feel how fucking huge he was, how thick, the slight swell of his knot at the base, his full balls. Asahi bit his tongue when he felt them tighten against the curve of his ass, getting ready to squirt on him.

Asahi moaned again, ground his hips down into the mat and up again into Noya’s dick. The movement rubbed his face against the laminate, his stubble scratching against it. Noya shifted his weight above him. Before Asahi had a chance to adapt to Noya’s rhythm, a hand ran over his hips, yanked his shorts and boxers down over his prick, then his butt. He gasped at being exposed. His twisted arm jerked against Noya’s hold, but was only pushed tighter into his back. Asahi groaned, felt his knot bulging at the display of control.

His breath caught in his throat when he felt Noya’s naked cock press against him. With one thrust, it slid between his cheeks. Asahi whimpered. It was _right there_ , so firm and fucking fat that it spread his ass completely open, the head poking out over the cleft. It throbbed along his crack and oh, that was his _knot_ , right there against his hole, swelling and filling. His entrance twitched, sucked against stiffening flesh. Noya groaned over his gland and started rutting against him.

Asahi whined and moaned with every drag over his hole, every slap against his perineum. He wanted Noya to fuck him, to knot right into his fluttering rim, to take everything from him, because Noya could, he’d earned it, he was so strong, so dependable, nobody else deserved Asahi’s obedience, his surrender. He twisted his face harder into the mat, bared his throat entirely, wished that he could expose his belly to him, too. Noya groaned, scraped his teeth against the gland, rolled the flesh between them and then _sucked_ , sucked so hard that the mark of his teeth and his lips would be all over it, and Asahi wanted that, he wanted that so bad.

He took huge gulps of air, stuffing himself with the scent of Noya’s sweat and his breath and his cock, his thick cock that was spitting out precum and smearing it into Asahi’s crack, pushing it into his hole. It was so fucking good, he could feel his own knot thickening along with Noya’s, oh fuck, they could cum together. Asahi wriggled under Noya, moved the arm he was laying on towards his front. Noya growled again, it vibrated deep from within his chest to Asahi’s gland. He moaned, his cock dribbling onto the mat, but kept moving until he could take hold of his knot.

He squeezed and whimpered, jerked on the bulging flesh, fucked into the tight circle of his hand, Noya’s scent flashing in his mouth, filling him up to bursting, it felt so incredibly good, he wanted it so much, ground his slick ass against Noya’s dick, his entrance right into his knot until it opened a little, sucking the throbbing knot _in_ , oh _fuck_ , and then he shuddered and came, his dick gushing on the mat while he gasped and drove his gland further into Noya’s mouth, his lips and tongue trembling against Asahi’s skin and then he felt it, Noya’s knot hardening and growing against his hole, shoving his cock against him as if he wanted to force it inside, groaning, his hand spasming around Asahi’s wrist while he _knotted_ and his dick spurted his cum all over Asahi’s shirt and ass, fuck, pumping it into his crack and Asahi just squeezed himself harder and came again, knot so hard and cock so wet, whimpering and shaking as his semen poured out of him. Noya bit his gland, dragged his teeth over it before pressing his forehead into Asahi’s shoulder, moaned, thrust his knot over Asahi’s hole and came hard and then Asahi moaned, too, because Noya was watching himself cum and knot on Asahi’s ass, because he _liked_ seeing that, he buried his hand in Asahi’s shirt and pulled it up to his neck, the hot streaks of his cum splashing on Asahi’s naked back, _yes_ , right on his back where it streamed over his sides, leaked onto the mat, rivulets of Noya’s spunk on him, collecting in the groove of his spine and running up to his shoulder blades, Asahi twitched and writhed with every splatter of cum and Noya groaned and _pushed_ him down, hips and cock digging into his ass, holding him down and biting into his gland and Asahi yelled, his knot and dick grinding against the mat and he came, shooting off on his chest while Noya gasped and squirted on his back.

His knot was softening, but Asahi kept squeezing it, his balls still pulsing his cum out of him, the smell of Noya’s orgasm sparking on the tip of his tongue. It felt so good, he couldn’t stop, didn’t want to stop, Noya was still thrusting his dick all over his ass, drenching Asahi with his seed, so Asahi jerked his knot and pressed his hole against Noya’s stiff prick and came keening, dick weeping out more cum while Noya rode out another orgasm, his body squirmed, flinching from the overstimulation and wanting it, taking everything Noya gave him and panting for more. 

The flow of Noya’s ejaculation slowed, and then stopped. He licked at Asahi’s scent gland like it was a popsicle, incessantly, focussed. He reached down and coated the hand that had been holding up Asahi’s shirt in his cum, rubbed it up to his shoulders, spread it over his neck, into Asahi’s armpits, his hair. Asahi sighed, leant into Noya’s marking touches. He felt so good. Submitting to Noya felt completely right, like nothing else in his life ever had.

When he was satisfied with his work, Noya laid down on Asahi’s back, nose tucked against his gland. Their breathing calmed as they lay together. Asahi’s face was squished against the mat, still hot and sweating, but cooling now. He focussed on the feeling of Noya’s breath washing over his throat, his chin, the feeling of his dick going limp against his ass. The scent of Noya’s cum was all over Asahi. It coated his entire back, his ass, was dripping down his cleft to his balls, was stiffening in his sweaty hair. It made Asahi smile.

For a bit, he drifted in out of sleep. Noya’s weight on top of him should have been too heavy to be comfortable, but it wasn’t. It was warm, reassuring, undeniably present. The only thing better than that might have been to hold Noya close to his chest, so he could bury his nose in Noya’s sticky hair.

At some unidentifiable point, Noya stirred on Asahi’s back. He groaned quietly, skimmed the tip of his nose against Asahi’s scent gland. Then, he rolled off of him with what Asahi supposed was the grace of a newborn kitten. There were lots of pointy elbows and knees digging into his muscles, at least. Noya’s soaked practice shirt clung to Asahi like a second skin and even made a slick sound once it broke free. The cool air of the gym hit Asahi’s wet back, and it should have felt gross or, at the very least, uncomfortable, but it only made Asahi smirk to himself. When Noya tipped onto his side, he paused, then said disbelievingly, „What the frick, Asahi-San, you’re a _mess_.“

Asahi snorted roughly. „Does that really surprise you?“

As he started to climb to his knees, Noya exclaimed, „Ah, wait!“

Asahi obeyed. There was some rustling, and then he felt Noya wiping him down with his shirt. Or wipe him down as best as he could, considering that the shirt was almost soaked through with spunk. It was still dry enough to collect most of what was on Asahi’s back. He felt a confusing mixture of contentment and embarrassment when Noya passed his shirt over his butt cheeks, into his crack and down to his balls.

„At least you clean up your messes properly,“ Asahi commented, smiling at the wall in front of him.

„Uh-huh,“ Noya agreed, „And I’m sorry to say that _you’re_ gonna have to clean up _your_ mess, because this thing is fucking ruined.“

„Fair enough,“ Asahi replied and took off his shirt. The front was already wet, so he cleaned himself up with the back. Which was also pretty wet, but at least less than the front. All in all, it was a bit off a botched job, but it’s not like they-

Ah well, but they did have towels, didn’t they.

With a sigh, Asahi stood up from the mat and walked over to where he’d dropped his towel earlier. It had a few damp spots, but was otherwise more than useable. Asahi rubbed it over any wet patch he could find, then returned to the mat and mopped up any leftover cum as best as he could. Still, anybody that would come close enough to touch the mat would probably be able to tell that this school property had been used inappropriately. He should probably come in early tomorrow to really clean it. Didn’t they have something vinegar based in the club room?

Once he was finished, Asahi dragged the two mats back into the equipment room. Noya had already collected the balls scattered around the gym and stowed the ball trolley away. Silently, they disassembled the net.

As Asahi lifted the poles into their holders on the wall, he marveled at his own serenity. Except for a little apprehension, he didn’t really feel that freaked out. Wondering what was going on with them, sure, but not freaking out about it. 

Grimacing, Asahi slipped into his drenched shirt, collected his stuff and locked up the gym. They didn’t talk on their way to the club room. They changed, and Asahi stole a few glances at Noya. The line of his shoulders was low, his brow smooth. He seemed similarly unbothered. Maybe it was the orgasms? Even in rut, Asahi hadn’t gotten off more than three times during one knotting before. So this was a little outside of his usual experience. Also considering that this was his first time having sex.

Asahi’s fingers clenched hard on his gakuran jacket as the world tilted sideways. Holy _shit_ , he’d just had sex! With Nishinoya! Nishi-fucking-noya! He’d pulled down Asahi’s pants and _knotted on his ass_!

His eyes whipped back to Noya haphazardly buttoning his shirt. Fucking shit, they’d had sex. Noya had basically attempted to suck out Asahi’s scent gland. He’d made Asahi _submit_ to him. While he was in rut! Was that normal, none of that seemed normal! God, he’d cum so much. And Noya, too. Asahi was a little hazy on the details, but didn’t he cum like four times, too? _Five_?

Asahi felt some stirring in his pants and pulled his eyes away. This, this had been great. Fantastic, even. He’d never heard of an Alpha dominating another Alpha and that Alpha, well, _enjoying_ it. But it had been incredibly hot. And Noya, he… he’d been quietly controlled. This side of him was completely new to Asahi. And God, his sounds, his _scent_. His touch.

He’d covered Asahi with his seed. He’d marked him.

„Ready?“ Noya asked. Asahi jerked around, nodded hard.

He didn’t look at Noya as he locked the club room, kept his chin low to conceal his shaky, excited smile.

At the beginning of July, the air was warm, the sun just about getting ready to set. They walked down the slope in companionable silence.

„I really need to practice that libero toss,“ Noya suddenly moaned, „It was super messy.“

Still struggling a bit with his accelerated heartbeat, Asahi hummed. „Yeah, you do. But everybody in our team needs to improve. My jump serve is really unreliable, too, but as long as we keep working at it, we’re going to be fine.“

„Oh, nicely put!“ Noya said. When Asahi looked at him, he had a bright grin on his face.

Okay? He raised his eyebrow at Noya. „Was this some kind of test?“

Noya’s grin morphed into a smirk. „Maybe I just wanted to make sure that our Ace wasn’t about to ragequit on us again.“

„Glad you’re so concerned,“ Asahi replied. He was actually kind of offended. Why did everybody expect him to just get up and leave now when things got a little difficult?

Asahi swallowed the uncomfortable feeling in his throat and asked, „Speaking of your shameless cunning, did you convince your moms to get you that cat?“

„I’m this fucking close!“ Noya held up his fingers so Asahi could closely examine the tiny gap between them. „The only thing they’re still concerned about is what happens with her when I graduate. For some reason, they suspect that I will abandon her like a candy wrapper, and they’re gonna have to take care of her. I don’t know why they would even be bothered by that, she’s so cute!“

Noya thrust his phone into Asahi’s face to show him the picture of the elderly cat he wanted to adopt from his neighbor. Like he hadn’t already shown him twenty times before.

Smiling, Asahi indulged him, looked at the striped cat offering her belly to the camera and said, „She really is very cute.“

Noya kept going on about the cat’s superior cuteness, describing in full detail their last play session. Asahi was sure it actually wasn’t that exciting, but Noya had a way with words that made it sound like the best Sunday afternoon ever. He found himself laughing at Noya’s retelling, drinking in his vibrant, handsome face while his heart thumped hard in his chest. It was nice to walk with him alone, where nobody could wonder about Asahi’s dopey expression.

Knowing that they were both drenched in each other’s scent, like they _belonged_ together, made it all the sweeter.

Soon, they saw the glaring lights of Sakanoshita in front of them.

„Since it’s July and I’m still sweaty, I require a popsicle,“ Noya declared. He turned to Asahi. „Wait for me here?“

Asahi nodded. He walked a little to the side of the street. Next to him, an overenthusiastic street lamp blinked on, the electric hum and light attracting moths in seconds. The chirping of the cicadas echoed so loud in the air that Asahi was surprised he hadn’t registered it before.

There was a ping and Noya emerged from the store. Asahi glanced at the person on the counter, likely an elderly relative of Ukai’s. The lady was already back on her book and didn’t look bothered in the slightest. Maybe she was a Beta and couldn’t smell the Alpha sex on Noya. Or the smell was only so obvious to Asahi.

Wordlessly, Noya offered him a popsicle. He’d bought two.

Asahi was pleased and surprised and flattered and a whole lot of other things. He tried to keep his smile contained and only said, „Oh, thank you.“

Noya waved him off, „Nah.“

Together, they unwrapped their popsicles and started eating. Not wanting to give too much of his happiness away, Asahi turned his face towards the setting sun. Most of it had disappeared behind the horizon. The last rays dipped everything in a hue of burnt orange. Like Noya’s face and his hair. His eyes.

Asahi’s own dropped down to the Gari Gari Kun in Noya’s hand. He’d barely eaten any of it. When he raised his gaze again, Noya was looking at him. He reached out and touched Asahi’s upper arm.

„Things like that happen,“ he said.

Asahi blinked at him.

Noya swallowed and continued, „Things, things like that happen. You were in rut, and you had a shit day, and there was a lot of hormonal stuff going on and, like, instincts fucking everywhere. Doesn’t mean that this was anything. Doesn’t say anything about you or me.“

Asahi was still. Noya’s eyes fluttered over him.

„Everything’s cool. And we’re still friends. There’s no reason to freak out or something. It’s all good. The team’s all good.“

Asahi looked down at his popsicle. Blue sky liquid trickled down Asahi’s hand. It stained his shirt, but he hadn’t even felt it melting down his fingers. Slowly, he turned his hand so that the popsicle pointed downwards. Asahi stared as it dropped down onto the pavement.

Noya rushed on, his voice a little higher, „Stuff like that is normal. Happens all the time. It just, you just felt. Different today and-“

„Yeah, you’re right,“ Asahi heard himself interrupt, „I’m glad you said that, but it’s fine. Like you said. It just happened.“

It was true. People lost their virginity everyday, and it didn’t mean a thing. Not a damn thing. They twisted their friend’s arm behind their back and dominated them and knotted on them without any meaning at all.

Noya’s eyes bore into him. „I, are you sure?“

Yep, totally meaningless to get off on your Alpha friend holding you down and making you submit. Asahi nodded, gave him an encouraging smile. He was good at those even when he didn’t really mean it.

„We’re good?“

Another nod.

„You’re gonna come to practice tomorrow?“

Fuck practice and fuck everybody worried about him leaving the fucking team again like there wasn’t anything else to him than just being the stupid fucking Ace when would Noya stop fucking _worrying_ -

Asahi looked down, shifted his popsicle into his other hand and stuck his sticky fingers into his mouth as if that was the reason for his distorted face.

„I’ve got the keys, remember?“ he mumbled around his digits.

There was some silence. When Asahi looked up from his leaking popsicle, Noya smiled at him in relief. Seeing it hurt, right there between his ribs. The pain turned the sweetness in his mouth bitter.

„Indeed you do!“ he exclaimed. Then, he polished off his popsicle in something like four bites. „Okay, I, I’m glad we cleared that up. Let’s go?“

Asahi nodded again, and they left.

Instantly, Noya started chatting about this cat again. He gave Asahi a word for word recount of the argument he’d had with his mothers. Asahi nodded, made sounds when appropriate and snorted at Noya’s colorful use of language.

All the while, Asahi’s popsicle melted into tiny, sugary drops on the ground. He didn’t feel like eating it. Why did Noya even buy that for him? To sweeten the persuasion? As a bribe? To buy him off like a whore?

Asahi pressed his lips together. That couldn’t be it, Noya didn’t think like that. He’d bought it, because he was a nice friend.

A nice friend that just happened to fuck him, because Noya followed whatever his instincts told him to do. When they told him to growl, he did it, when they told him to salivate over Kiyoko, he did it, when they told him to mark Asahi with his cum, he did it.

It wasn’t like Asahi hadn’t given into his own instincts. To bare his throat to Noya, to let himself be pushed down, to let him taste his scent. But he’d done so knowing that those were his actions. His instincts didn’t control him, they didn’t make him do anything. If he gave into them, it was a conscious decision to do so. Because he wanted to.

But that’s not how Noya saw it. Like a lot of Alphas saw it, claiming they couldn’t help themselves when they smelled a ‚bitch in heat’.

„Okay, I guess I see you tomorrow.“

Asahi barely contained his flinch. Noya stood in front of the gate of his house, holding this keys in his blue tinted fingers. His eyes jumped from Asahi’s face to the ice cream melting in his hand.

Following his gaze, Asahi saw that it had dripped onto his pants and shoes, sprinkling them a light blue. He let out a surprised „oh“, then a self-deprecating laugh. „I guess I forgot all about that.“

Mechanically, he got out his wallet. „I’m sorry, Nishinoya-San. Let me pay you back, I didn’t even-“

Noya gave a short, barking laugh, one of Asahi’s favorites.

„You’re really a klutz sometimes, Asahi-San.“

He felt his smile flicker on his lips, but only for a second. „Sometimes. I see you tomorrow at practice. Good luck with the cat talk.“

„Thanks!“ Noya shouted, already on his way to the door. „I see you tomorrow, Asahi-San!“

The sky was almost completely dark when Asahi started walking again. He took out his phone. His mom had sent him a text letting him now that she would be late. Only then did it occur to Asahi that she probably would have had some questions if he came home smelling like another Alpha’s spunk. Huh. One of the only times he was glad his mom was a workaholic. 

He fished out his ear buds from his gakuran pocket and jammed them into his ears. Once in his music app, he thumbed into the insomnia playlist and shuffled around until he found a song with a bass heavy enough to burst his eardrums. The music was loud, with nonsensical words that Asahi realized were English, but with an accent strange enough that he couldn’t understand one word. It was weird and kind of uncomfortable.

He listened to the same senseless song all the way home.

The house was predictably dark when he arrived. Asahi left his shoes in the entrance and walked into the bathroom. His sports bag plonked onto the wood. Without watching, without thinking, he took his soiled practice outfit and stuffed it into the washing machine. He undressed himself, tossed everything in as well. He poured in some detergent and then a little more. They still had a little bit of scent neutralizing fabric conditioner. Asahi just tipped the entire thing into the compartment.

He chose the setting and the washing machine started to hum. With a sense of relief, Asahi stepped into the shower.

For a few minutes, he just stood there. He imagined how the water pearled on his skin, peeled away all of the grime and the sweat and the spunk and washed it right out of existence. Feeling a little better, Asahi started to shower. He shampooed his hair rigorously, soaping it up and rinsing it down three times. Now and again, his fingers grazed his scent gland, and every time, he would blush guiltily.

Once out of the shower, Asahi went through his usual routine. He only applied a little more hair oil and deodorant than strictly necessary. Afterwards, he wiped the condensation from the mirror and took a look at his gland. He’d been prepared for the worst, but it actually wasn’t that bad. There was still a little swelling, but not the enormous bruise that he’d feared there to be. If anything, it looked a little like an almost entirely faded hickey, but it was so unnoticeable that his mom probably wouldn’t even see it. And that was good. Really good, because he was an abysmal liar in front of his mom.

After he’d dressed in his most comfortable pajamas he wouldn’t be caught dead in, Asahi started preparing dinner. He cut the vegetables to the sound of a French photographer sharing details of her work on Dior Talks. He listened to it occasionally in an attempt to improve his English skills. It probably didn’t have that big of an effect, but it also made for some nice background noise.

His mom fell through the door just as the potatoes sloshed into the curry.

„I’m home!“ she shouted at him.

„Welcome home!“ he shouted back.

There was a lot of rustling, and then his mother entered the kitchen. Asahi heard her stop at the table, then take a few more steps towards him.

The surprise was evident in her voice when she asked, „Your rut already broke?“

„Yeah, it did,“ Asahi replied evenly.

„Oh, lucky you! And lucky me for coming home to this feast!“

She hugged him from behind, her smaller frame pressed close to his back. It made him feel a little bit like crying. But that was ridiculous, there was nothing to cry about, he’d already known that Noya didn’t like him. Instead, he turned around in his mother’s embrace and hugged her back.

Together, they finished cooking dinner and ate. His mom grumbled about her new overly ambitious colleague whose messes she always had to clean up. As a good son, Asahi agreed with her on every point. He didn’t even say anything when she started mixing her DIY face mask while he cleared the table and saw that she was stirring together way too much of the ingredients. When she bullied him into applying some on his own face, because would you look at that, she made way too much, Asahi only smiled and said, „Sure.“

So they sat next to each other on the low table in front of the TV with mushy muesli on their faces, and Asahi felt more or less okay. It was even nicer when she rested her head against his shoulder. Asahi liked that. The comfort of her scent, of her presence.

After a while, his mom pulled back. She searched his face with her eyes. „Did somebody challenge you today?“

Asahi shook his head. „No.“

„Did you have trouble with another Alpha?“

Not a muscle twitched in Asahi’s face. It was really no wonder that there were still traces of Noya on him, considering the way he’d marked him. „No, but I wrestled with Nishinoya.“ A pause, because Asahi had to brace himself. „Can you smell him on me?“

„A little, I think? Why did you wrestle with Nishinoya?“

„He said it would help with my rut. That it helps him when he’s rutting.“

And then they’d had sex and Noya had said it was nothing special despite the fact that he’d rubbed his cum all over Asahi to the point that his mother could still smell it on him and how could that be meaningless? How could have any of that been meaningless?

„Oh, okay! So I guess that worked, then. Nice of him.“ His mother smiled a little at him and turned her attention back to the TV.

Asahi’s eyes returned to the screen as well, but saw nothing.

„Yeah, I guess it was.“


End file.
